The Legacy Anodite
by HollyKalina23
Summary: Ben, Gwen and Kevin encounter some old enemies but the most surprising thing of all, is the new ally they find. But is there something she's hiding? We shall see. Gwevin, BenXOC. Rating may be subjected to change. UPDATE! SUM CHANGED!
1. Chapter 1 Ben's New Smoothie Favourite

_'I decided to start this Ben 10 fanfiction after watching some of the brand new Ben 10: Ultimate Alien episodes. I got the idea for this while playing around with another idea that combined Ben 10 and Ben 10: Alien Force. I really hope everyone likes this. I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can (hopefully I can have one up on Christmas Eve/Day so you guys get a christmas present from me). _

_I decided as a fun thing to do, I'm going to name each chapter with either a funny or sarcastic/funny title. Any ideas on chapter names and plot bunnies are always welcome._

_Disclaimer (I'm only going to do this once so pay attention): I do not own Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, any of it's characters or aliens. They belong to their respective creators._

_Claimer: I do own the story line, any aliens I make up along the way (as well as their names, descriptions and back stories) and Veronica Alyce Myers. _

_And please review. I'll try to have a new chapter out before christmas but the more reviews I get, the faster it will come._

_Now, enjoy!'_

_'EDIT (21/12/11): I realised I'd forgotten something near the end so I fixed that. Please review and enjoy!'_

**Chapter One: Ben's New Smoothie Favourite**.

"Okay, this has to be the best smoothie ever!" Ben Tennyson yelled excitedly, jumping up and down on the spot. He'd just bought an apricot and celery smoothie from his favourite smoothie place, Mr. Smoothie, and was definately glad he did.

"Ben, calm down before you make yourself sick." His cousin, Gwen Tennyson, looked on in disgust.

"Yeah, Tennyson. You don't wanna go drinking that just to bring it back up again, do you?" Gwen's boyfriend and Ben's best friend, Kevin Levin, said with a small smirk on his face. Although Ben's taste in smoothies was pretty disgusting, it was funny to see Ben jumping around over a smoothie.

"Guys, you have to try this! It's amazing!" Ben said, waving the smoothie around in his left hand. He'd developed a taste for smoothies from Mr. Smoothie's when he was about fourteen years old. Now, at sixteen, he'd become one of their longest regular customers ever. There was even a photo of him with his hundredth smoothie on the wall inside. The only other longest regular customer was a girl who was about sixteen named Veronica Myers. Veronica and Ben were almost tied for the most about of smoothies bought within a year. Veronica was on two hundred and thirty four while Ben was on two hundred and twenty eight. Wait, two hundred and twenty nine now. He only needed five more to be tied with Veronica.

On top of being nearly tied for the most amount of smoothies in a year, Ben and Veronica were also friends at school as she was one of the only girls who didn't want to go out with him, at least for his fame, as far as he knew. While she preferred to call him 'Benji' the majority of the time, he nicknamed her 'Ronnie' and although she wasn't fond of it at first, she quickly warmed up to it, realising that Ben was only calling her that because he cared about her.

Ben had come to Mr. Smoothie on this day to celebrate his B+ on his math final, a grade that was upped from his C- last semester. It was better for Ben now that his parents knew about his powers that the Ultimatrix granted him. He felt more relieved that they knew so he didn't have to hide his secret from them. Although having the entire world knowing about his secret identity, or identities in this case (thanks to a ten year old boy named Jimmy), was a bit unnerving. He'd already been asked out by at least thirty girls at his school that he didn't even know past the occastional glance in the halls or when they came to support his soccer team.

His girlfriend, Julie, or rather ex-girlfriend, had broken up with him once all the girls started flaunting over him. She thought he was encouraging them to keep flirting with him when he'd only just politely asked them to leave him alone as he was taken and had a girlfriend. But now, it was even harder to fend girls off that he knew only wanted to date him for his fame as he was single.

Anyway, back to the smoothie.

"No, Ben. We don't. Celery and apricot? No thanks," Gwen said, shaking her head. Kevin just looked at Ben with a look that said 'Don't-Even-Think-About-Asking-Me-To-Try-It'.

Ben sighed but gulped down the rest of his smoothie. "Ahh, that's the stuff," He sighed, feeling relaxed and calmed after his daily smoothie.

Well, that didn't last long.

A woman screamed over the other side of the parking lot.

Ben sighed and turned, along with Kevin and Gwen, to see an alien similar to Wildmutt only older slashing at people with its claws. "Isn't that a Wildmutt?" Gwen asked, using her powers to conjure mana shields to protect Bellwood's townspeople.

Ben looked a little closer. "Yeah, it is. But it looks older than Wildmutt did."

Kevin looked around for something to absorb and finally decided on absorbing the red painted metal on one of the nearest cars. The metal travelled up his arm and coated his entire body. "It's a Vulpimancer. Full grown adult by the looks of it." Kevin focused on his hand and made the metal covering his body grow into a ball with spikes to replace his hand. He ran forward and swung it at the Vulpimancer, narrowly missing its head.

A second later, Kevin came flying through the air, skidding on the tar to stop next to Gwen. Gwen, while still keeping an eye out for any straggling people, checked on her boyfriend, relieved to find he wasn't injured.

"Alright. It's hero time," Ben called, turning the dial on his Ultimatrix until he found the right alien he wanted to transform into. Pushing the dial in, Ben was swallowed up by a bright green light.

When it died down, he had transformed into one of his favourite aliens. "Swampfire!" He called out, his voice deeper. Ben sent small seeds flying to land next to the Vulpimancer and within seconds, they were absorbed into the ground and vines grew through cracks in the concrete. Ben manipulated them to wrap tightly around the Vulpimancer.

The Vulpimancer struggled briefly before using its teeth to rip apart the vines and free itself. It growled at Ben, side gills flaring as it caught his scent.

A shadow suddenly flashed across the sun a second before a girl with collarbone length copper coloured hair and bright blue eyes landed in front of Ben. Her bangs covered her eyes. She wore a pair of black tights that went three quarters of the way down her legs. On her feet were a pair of ankle high boots that had a low heel. She also wore a dark purple t-shirt that hung lightly off one shoulder. **(1)**

Ben looked on as she rose to her feet from her kneeling position in front of him. She looked ahead at the Vulpimancer, which snarled with recognition. Smirking, she turned around, revealing that her bangs actually parted on the right side of her head so most of the bangs were swept to the left side. Her unnaturally bright blue eyes locked with Ben's equally unnaturally bright green ones.

For a moment, the two were frozen in place. It was as if everything around them was at a stand still and they were the only two that were aware of it. But the moment passed and Ben was flung back by a second Vulpimancer that had snuck up to his side as he was staring at the mystery girl.

The second Vulpimancer was a paler orange than the one that kept the girl distracted. It also had a lighter purple tongue than the first Vulpimancer.

The girl spun back around, realising she was now trapped.

Seeing this also, Gwen used her mana shield to protect the girl as the Vulpimancer behind her tried to attack. Kevin ran over and hit it in the face, knocking it on its side.

The girl smiled in thanks, not that Gwen or Kevin could see it. The Vulpimancer in front of her was beginning to falter as it saw in its mind its companion being taken down by Gwen and Kevin. The girl smirked at the creature in front of her. A purple glow suddenly illuminated her hands. She crossed her arms in an X shape, sending two purple discs twirling towards the creature. It hit the gills on either side of the creatures neck, earning the girl a wailing groan for her trouble.

The Vulpimancer took a couple of steps back and shook its head, almost looking like it was coming back to fight the girl but it's companion dodged Kevin's last swipe and howled at it to retreat. The Vulpimancer reluctantly followed, leaving the heroes wondering.

The girl turned around and smiled at the three of them. Walking closer, she used her energy to grasp the overturned cars and place them in the upright position again. Her energy also soothed any damage to the grass surrounding the parking lot. She then came within five feet of the couple and stopped.

Gwen looked at her, feeling as though the girl was familiar but also very powerful. She could also feel that this girl was an Anodite.

"Hey, who are you? Why did you jump in the middle like that? We could have handled it!" Kevin growled, feeling Gwen's hand on his arm even as he raised his weapon arm.

"No, Kevin. Don't. She's not dangerous to us. She's an Anodite," Gwen scolded Kevin, keeping a hand tight on his arm, even as the metal began to melt its way off Kevin as he let his powers rest.

"Still, we could have handled that, with or without her," Kevin argued.

"Um, I am right here and can hear every word your saying ," The girl pointed out, gesturing towards the not-so-big-anymore gap between the four of them, "and I'm not just any old Anodite. I'm a legacy Anodite, just like you. I can sense it within you, even if you cannot."

Kevin at least had the decency to blush. Gwen looked on in awe. She'd never met another Anodite before, apart from her grandmother, Verdona, and her bratty cousin, Sonny. It felt nice to feel a positive and calming aura coming from this girl.

A flash of green light alerted their attention to Ben, who'd been knocked into a pile of cardboard boxes. Luckily, he didn't appear to be injured. He walked over to his cousin, her boyfriend and the girl who'd jumped into a fight between him and a full grown Vulpimancer.

While Gwen's reaction and Kevin's reaction to the girl was expected, Ben's reaction was the most surprising of all.

"Ronnie?" Ben looked at her in shock.

'Ronnie' smiled at the group and waved. "Surprise, Benji."

* * *

><p><strong>(1)<strong> - Imagine a sort of off the shoulder t-shirt look that's dark purple with black pants. Basically it's almost like Gwen's Ultimate Alien outfit, only the top is slightly changed.

Review, my dear readers. I will try to post up the chapter within the next week and a bit but it would be really helpful and appreciated if I could get some reviews as motivation for the next chapter.

**So, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

**AND FAVOURITE!**

**AND SUBSCRIBE TO STORY ALERT AND AUTHOR ALERT!**


	2. Chapter 2 Ben, Get Out From Behind Me!

_Well, I'm back with another chapter, in time for Christmas just like I promised! Are you all excited? I am!_

_This chapter, although it won't have too much action in it, will kind of explain a bit about Ronnie's back story. I also got a review asking if this was a Bwen story (as in Ben and Gwen together). I'm sorry if this disappoints you at all, reviewer, but no, there's no romance between the cousins. It's actually in the description that I'm planning to pair her with Kevin (cause honestly, who else would I pair her with? lol). Ben is a different story. You'll get to see what I plan on doing with him later on -insert evil manic laugh here-._

_I'm working on making my chapters longer because the last chapter, I actually wrote at 1-2 in the morning (while I've been working on this one on and off for about a week) and I had work the next morning so it wasn't longer. I'm also not totally sure how long this story is going to be. I'll try to make it as long as I can but it might only end up being something like 15-20 chapters. The more reviews I get, the more inspiration for more chapters, so if you want a long story, review!_

_Also anything in Italics and Brackets () is just author speak. I can get a little nutty at this time of night._

_Enjoy the new chapter of **The Legacy Anodite**! I really hope you like the little fluffy bit at the end._

_P.S. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END. IT'S ABOUT THE NEXT CHAPTER'S UPDATE DATE. _

**Chapter Two: Ben, Get Out From Behind Me!**

The police cars had begun arriving. Their shining beams of red and blue flooded the area, blanketing the cousins, Kevin and Ronnie in their light. Many terrified people were still either shaking in fear or crying over their destroyed cars. Some were thanking Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Ronnie loudly for saving their lives and the lives of everyone there. Others were yelling curses and violent words at the four, blaming them for their frightful afternoon. The sun was beginning to set and while Ben, Gwen and Kevin would normally stay around to explain things to the public and calm everyone down, Ben decided that he'd leave that duty to the police, from whom he'd adopted the responsibility in the first place.

"We need to leave. There's no way we're going to get everyone calmed down and Ronnie, we need to talk," Ben said, straightening when he saw camera crews from the local T.V. and radio stations exiting a variety of black and white coloured vans, each with their own label unique to the station. He added, "Away from the ears of the public."

Kevin and Gwen nodded their agreement. The sooner they questioned Ronnie about who she really was, the better.

The trio turned to Ronnie, only to find she was already racing off in the direction of Ben's house. She looked back over her shoulder, her copper coloured hair flying in the breeze. "Are you slow pokes coming or what?" She yelled, smirking at Kevin's look of annoyance. "Meet at Ben's house in ten!" With that, she disappeared behind a sea of people who wanted to either photograph Ben for the paper, news or their blogs, thank him for saving their lives or who just wanted to scream at him that he was some kind of horrible monster.

The three ducked behind a still smoldering car, the metal having been set on fire by the crushing of the engine, whiched caused a small explosion that luckily, no-one was near. Ben gulped. "How are we going to get through them?"

Gwen smirked. "I got it covered." She focused her Mana powers and created three clones of them, directing them to run behind the now chaotic Mr. Smoothie, drawing the attention of the people and T.V./radio crews so they quickly and quietly slipped behind everyone, started Kevin's car (it would have been Ben's but Ben couldn't take his car to school because Kevin always picked both him and Gwen up once they were finished), and drove out of the parking lot and towards Ben's house.

Soon enough they pulled up to Ben's house, finding Ronnie already sitting on the front steps and looking like she'd been there for a while. She rose, smiling teasingly when they all exited the car. "What took you so long? With Kevin being as much of a speed demon as you say he is, Ben, I thought you would have been here a long time ago." Ronnie said, arms folded across her chest.

Ronnie laughed as Kevin's face turned beet red as he rounded on Ben, who cowered behind the only person who could save his life from Kevin Ethan Levin: Gwen.

"Ben, get out from behind me," Gwen said sternly, listening to Ronnie giggling cutely in the background, "Kevin won't hurt you, right Kevin?" With that, Gwen rounded her stern tone on Kevin, smiling inwardly as he faltered.

"No, Gwen," He mumbled.

"What? I can't hear you."

Kevin sighed. He should have known she'd make him say it loud enough so everyone could hear it. Man, he really was whipped.

(_I'll say! It it my story after all! :P_)

"Fine. Ben, I won't hurt you for calling me a speed demon to someone I don't know. Now, do as Gwen says and get out from behind her! Have you forgotten we need your house key to get inside?" Kevin reminded, feeling like he was talking to a child.

Ben shyly came out from his hiding place before bolting towards the door and quickly opening it, practically bouncing with excitement. His best friend (Ronnie, not Kevin) was about to spill all about her amazing moves fighting the Vulpimancers!

After taking drink orders, Ben disappeared into the kitchen, returning a couple of moments later with the requested drinks. A moment of silent sipping filled the room, weighing down on Ben who couldn't stand the quiet. He decided to speak up.

"Ronnie, you're an Anodite?" Ben asked . The gang were all seated on the maroon coloured couches that his mother had bought to compliment the cream coloured walls. His parents were on vacation for at least another week so Ben had the house to himself for a while.

Ronnie smiled warmly at her friend. "Yes, I am. I was born with my powers but I was only told about them when I first started showing signs of having them when I was seven years old. My Dad told me everything. Apparently, my mother was an Anodite as well and so I inherited my powers from her. She came to Earth when my Dad was about seventeen. He's thirty-eight now.

"He and my mother had four years with each other, with me being born in their third year together. They were married and all but soon after I turned four, my mother left to go back to Anodine. She said that she was getting bored with living a human existance and since I didn't have the 'spark', she left. But what she never knew was that I did have the spark but she just couldn't sense it within me," Ronnie explained, leaving out the part about her being a Legacy Anodite.

_(Hey, I have to keep up the suspense don't I?)_

"That's horrible. Why would your mother do something like that? Abandoning her own child?" Gwen said with disgust towards Ronnie's mother. If the same thing happened to Gwen and her child didn't have the 'spark', she'd never leave them because it would have been her child. It's not something that a mother does.

Gwen then remembered something else. "When you used your powers in the battle, your hands glowed purple, not pink like mine do," Gwen said, curious about the second Anodite teenager sitting in front of her. When Gwen had discovered the truth about her powers, she'd been horrified to find out that her parents knew everything and had neglected to tell her until her grandma Verdona had taken that decision out of their hands. In the end, it had taken Gwen almost slipping into her Anodite form and her struggle against Verdona that allowed her to stay on Earth.

Ronnie smiled like she knew a big secret that no-one else did. "I'll tell you in time but for now, anyone up for a Sumo Slammers marathon?" Knowing it would get Ben excited at even the idea of a Sumo Slammers marathon, the three others weren't all that surprised when Ben jumped up, yelled excitedly and raced up the stairs where he had all his Sumo Slammers dvds.

But what was surprising was that on the way past Ronnie, he grasped her wrist and pulled her from the couch, catching her when she stumbled but still continuing on his journey upstairs.

Gwen and Kevin looked at each other. "How long do you think it will be before they finally realise it?" Kevin asked, leaning back in his seat while pulling Gwen further into his arms.

Gwen snuggled into his arms, loving that feeling of security that came with being in Kevin's embrace. "I give it another month or so. What about you?"

Kevin smirked. "Next week. At the latest."

* * *

><p>Ronnie looked around Ben's room, because that's where he'd dragged her. Despite Ben being a sixteen year old, hormonal teenager, Ben's room was surprisingly tidy. There was a desk and chair, a king size bed and a medium sized T.V. on a set of draws. The bed was covered in a deep blue quilt with light blue bed sheets. Two pillows decorated the head of the bed. One was deep blue. The other was black.<p>

Ben watched as Ronnie looked around, fascinated. He'd been told by Kevin many times that his room was too clean for a guy but his mom was always on the look out for a messy room to clean and with Ben trying to keep his secret about the Omnitrix (at the time), he'd gotten into the habit of cleaning up himself when he came home from school so when his mother would come home, she wouldn't try to clean up his room and inevitably find something she was never supposed to. Even though his parents now knew everything, cleaning his room when he got home from school (or battle, whichever ended last) was one habit he had never broken.

He'd cleaned earlier that morning though, because his afternoon was spent celebrating his B+ on his math final and fighting the Vulpimancers that had crashed the party. His eyes darkened with sadness and anger as he remember all those screamed and yelled taunts towards him, the way people looked at him even though he'd just spared their lives.

The yells and screams echoed around in his head, growing louder and louder.

Ronnie suddenly saw something out of the corner of her eye. There on the T.V. was the new Sumo Slammers game, something Ronnie had been wanting to get for a while, even though it wasn't on sale yet. "Ben! How on Earth did you get this? It's not even available in stores yet!"

Ben blinked, disoriented. Ronnie's voice had snapped him out of his thoughts. A puzzled look then adorned his face. '_When Mom tries to snap me out of my thoughts, I just stay in them. Gwen and Kevin can do it because it usually means a battle is going on but for Ronnie to do it? It's strange_,' Ben thought.

Ben smiled once what Ronnie had said registered in his mind and crossed his arms over his slightly muscular chest. "Well, because everyone knows who I am now and what I can turn into, the Mayor of Bellwood offered to get me anything I needed to keep saving the city and the world but I came home one day last week and this was sitting on my doorstep with a note from the Mayor, saying that because I helped out downtown with some robber thugs, he pulled a few strings and got me the game early and for free."

Ben then sighed. "Despite what many people think, and whatever show I put on day to day, I actually don't like being famous," Ben said, sitting on the edge of his bed, "It leaves no room for privacy and there's always someone there to watch your every move. Thanks to the abilities I obtained, I can get away sometimes but usually people either look at me like I'm their savior or a freak, whether I'd just saved their lives or not. Like today. Alot of the people we protected were yelling and screaming at us like we were some kind of demons that didn't have feelings.

"It hurt to know that even though I risked myself to protect these people, they only see what they want: a creature that scares them. Even Julie was scared, but more because she thought I'd leave her. I'm really lucky I have Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa Max, my parents and you because you all see the best of me, not just the outside," Ben finished, moving to lie on his back. His head lay on the pillow, facing the window and he was trying to fight the tears that were pooling in his eyes.

What kind of hero broke down after some people yelled and screamed out curse words at him?

None.

Heroes didn't break down. They just remained strong, no matter what was thrown at them.

Ronnie looked down at her saddened friend and quickly decided to do something to cheer him up. Putting down the game on the T.V., she walked over to the bed and sat down beside Ben. She placed her hand on his knee. "Ben, those people, you can't let them get to you. You have your family and friends and we all support you. I once heard that the true courageousness of a hero was the strength of his determination to protect every person with everything they have, even those who may be frightened of the hero.

"With Kevin, Gwen, your family and me, I know you have the determination to protect everyone from anything that might bring them harm." Ronnie's little speech was even more effective on Ben than she could have hoped for, especially when she leaned down and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him like he needed to be hugged.

As she hugged him, she could feel him shaking with pent-up emotion. Softly, Ronnie coaxed Ben to release those emotions. "Shh, Ben. It's okay. It's okay to cry. You need to release that pent-up emotion. If you don't, it's going to consume you and then you won't be able to help people."

Ben jerked back to look at Ronnie. "Help people? Why should I help people anymore? All they see is a monster. They'd be happy if I went away."

Ronnie grabbed Ben's face in both of her hands, showing him the matching pool of tears in her eyes, and said softly, "I wouldn't."

That was the final straw for Ben. The tears in his eyes leaked out the sides and flowed down his cheeks. A sob broke through his throat before he could catch himself and the next thing he knew, both him and Ronnie were clutching each other as if their lives depended on it, crying out their emotions into one another's shoulders.

And for the first time since before his identity was revealed, he finally began to feel lighter.

* * *

><p><em>Well, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I sure did. I spend a few days writing on and off on this, trying to work out how to word everything and not make it seem rushed and I hope I achieved that. <em>

_Unfortunately because of the holiday season and my hours at work picking up in mid January, I'm not sure when exactly the next chapter will be posted. It could be before New Years or not until next year's February. It all depends on you guys, my dear readers. The more reviews I get, the sooner the update. The less reviews I get, the longer the wait until the next chapter._

_So please, if you love this story and would like more chapters sooner rather than later, **REVIEW**! Even if it's only a small one, I'd love to hear from everyone of my readers._

_Also, subscribe to **Author Alert**, **Story Alert** and **Favourite story** as well!_


	3. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Author's Note Update!

No, again, I'm sorry but this isn't a chapter update. I don't know when one of those will be. My work hours have picked up and my family life has just gotten even more hectic than it already was with my sister being here.

I have two stories right now that I have the chapters half done for:

Aura Guardians In Time

and

The Legacy Anodite.

I have the next chapter of Resistance written but I'm not sure when I'll have time to type it up and post it.

Please, my readers. Hang in there a little longer. I'll be back before you know it! I'll only be busy for the next week or so while the Back to School specials are on and my sister is here.

-HollyKalinaStabler.

P.S. Thank you for everyone who subscribed to Story and Author Alerts and added any of my stories to their favourites. I'm really glad that you love reading my stories.


	4. Chapter 3 Come on, Lover Boy

_MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! (PLEASE READ AUTHOR'S NOTE BELOW!)_

_Okay, now that's been said, I'm updating with another new chapter. I had a reviewer practically beg me for a new chapter before Christmas but unfortunately, I wasn't able to deliver due to my hours at work and preparations with Christmas at the time. I've been working a bit this week but I thought you guys deserved a new update because you guys are awesome and I love just how many people have favourited, reviewed and story alerted **The Legacy Anodite**! Thank you guys, you make me happy to get up and write everyday!_

_I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the small amount of reviews that I got but I guess it's just because this story is just starting off. I'm just glad that my readers are taking the time to review for me. I love you guys so much!_

_But as with any writer of a story, the more reviews I get, the more chapters that come out and the sooner they are completed and uploaded. _

_Enjoy the new chapter of **The Legacy Anodite**!_

**Chapter Three: Come on, Lover Boy.**

Two hours later, Gwen and Kevin padded softly up the stairs in their bare feet. They'd decided to have a small nap on the couch before Kevin had to drop Gwen home. After waking up slowly in each other's arms, dipping for a slow, loving kiss, they disentangled themselves from each other and padded softly up the stairs, intent on saying goodbye to Ben and wondering if Ronnie needed a lift home.

What they found was both surprising and a little endearing.

Ben and Ronnie were curled up in each other's arms, breathing deeply. Their eyes were closed and both had a content smile on their faces. Any evidence of their earlier crying had evaporated along with the weight on Ben's shoulders. It was the first time Gwen had seen Ben sleeping peacefully since his secret was exposed and especially after Julie's betrayal. Gwen fumed at the black haired tennis player. Julie had always promised to be there for Ben, no matter what, even when his secret wasn't a secret anymore. But, like everyone else when they found out, she eventually turned on Ben when she felt like she wasn't the centre of his life anymore.

Gwen took to comforting Ben at night when he was afraid to sleep, terrified that the scene of Julie's betrayal would replay in his unconscious mind. It took some time but eventually, Ben began to put that horrible day behind him.

Gwen had to restrain Kevin from going after the little heartbreaker when Ben had called them in tears, wailing in agony as Julie ripped out his heart and dragged it all over town. While Kevin still upheld his rivalry with Ben (along with all the teasing), Ben was Kevin's best friend and if his best friend was hurt, someone was going to pay.

Ronnie suddenly shivered on the bed. Ben's slighly muscular arms that were around her tightened, bringing her closer to his chest and more warmth. Ronnie sighed with satisfaction. Her head was now tucked under Ben's chin and his nose was in her hair, inhaling her scent.

Gwen smiled at the sight while Kevin smirked. He was definately going to win!

Slowly, the two teens on the bed awoke in each others arms.

The first things Ben was aware of was the smell of roses wafting into his nose and something soft under his chin. He snuggled his head closer to the smell and further into the softness, content on just lying there. Seconds later, his sleepy glazed eyes fluttered open with the bundle in his arms began to move. As they focused, Ben saw that the softness he'd buried his head into was actually Ronnie's hair.

Sighing, Ben closed his eyes again only for them to snap open when his foggy brain realised that Gwen and Kevin were watching them from the doorway. Ben glared at the couple as Kevin smirked and Gwen 'aww'ed' silently.

Suddenly, Ronnie began thrashing on the bed. "N-No... No... Go away... Leave us alone!" She was screaming by the end. Sobs rose up in her throat and tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes. Ben, panicking as usual, shook Ronnie roughly, desperately trying to wake her up before she hurt herself. Despite Ben's efforts, she still thrashed hard, trying to fling Ben's hand off her shoulder. He wouldn't let go, using his free hand to grasp her other shoulder and try to shake them in unison.

"Ronnie! Wake up! You're safe, it's okay! Wake up!" Ben had to yell to be heard over Ronnie's screams.

"No! Leave me alone!"

"Ben, be careful. She might accidentally use her powers if she's in this nightmare too deep," Gwen said, concern rising in her for the girl that, although she'd known her for only a few hours, Gwen could feel just how much her presence had lifted Ben's spirits.

"I know what I'm doing, Gwen! I've had to wake an Anodite from a nightmare before, you know!" Ben growled, almost wrestling with Ronnie's flailing limbs to avoid being smacked, punched or kicked. Gwen flinched at the reminder of one of her more viscious nightmares three years ago that Ben had to awaken her from when they were on a family camping trip with their parents and Grandpa Max. She'd woken up and found someone over her, holding her down, and attacked, sending them flying through the opening and on a collision course with the tree just outside the tent's entrance. A moment later, her groggy brain had registered that the person who had awoken her was none other than her dweeb cousin, Ben. She'd rushed out of bed, apologizing profusely but Ben waved off her apologies, telling her that it wasn't her fault he'd scared her fresh from waking from a nightmare. Surprisingly, Ben hadn't been hurt from the collision, not a scratch on him. It had confused Gwen but she was more concerned about her nightmare.

She eventually told Ben that she'd dreamt that Vilgax had come back and killed him because he didn't have the Omitrix. She'd had to dream of his head rolling along the ground as Vilgax sawed it off. The part where she finally awoke was when Ben's bright green eyes, identical to her own, rolled in her direction, stopping on her tear stained face. The lips of his disembodied head moved as he whispered to her, "Why didn't you save me?"

From then on, despite Ben's reassurances, she'd constantly looked for any danger towards him, going as far as hanging around him at school. His friends had playfully teased him until Gwen put a stop to it. When Ben got the Omnitrix back, Gwen finally relaxed, content that Ben could hold his own with the very same device that had gained him those dangerous enemies across the galaxy, as well as some powerful allies.

But she still worried every once in a while.

"G-Go away!" Ronnie screamed, her voice broken by her ever existance sobbing. Ben tried once more to wake Ronnie before something happened.

Ronnie's eyes snapped open, glowing a bright striking purple. A vine of purple mana wrapped around Ben's waist, lifting him up off the bed. He was still for a moment, eyes glassy, before his eyes focused again and he struggled.

"Ben, don't struggle! It'll seem like you're trying to free yourself to hurt-" Gwen swiftly dodged as Ben's wiggling body was flung in their direction. Kevin caught Ben right before he hit the wall on the far side of his room, next to his wardrobe.

"-Her," Gwen finished warily, her point now useless. She crossed her arms and focused her mana, trying to communicate with the still unconscious Anodite. She send calming waves to Ronnie, being careful to avoid her mana vine that had begun to search out anyone who her instincts suspected of harming her. As Gwen dodged another of the vine's attempt to grasp her waist, the calming waves she sent to Ronnie were finally getting through. Ronnie slowly stopped thrashing and her mana disappeared. Her eyes faded back to their unnaturally bright blue.

"Huh?" Ronnie sat up in Ben's bed, looking around the room as she realised that the light coming from the window now was moonlight. She'd slept longer than she thought!

She spotted Gwen, Kevin and Ben along the far wall of the room, Ben absentmindedly rubbing his right shoulder which had connected with the wall, despite Kevin's attempt to prevent that. Kevin looked at her with sympathy and concern. He knew what it was like to have nightmares that kept you trapped within their grasp, no matter how much you wish you could escape. He'd had them alot in the Null Void.

Gwen looked at her with concern, sympathy and understanding. Knowing just how bad her nightmares could be, Gwen wondered what Ronnie was dreaming about to have such a strong reaction. Although, it seemed even though her unconscious instincts still threw Ben towards the wall, her unconscious mind seemed reluctant to attack Ben. It left something for Gwen to ponder over.

Ben looked at his best girl friend with tears in his eyes. When the mana vine had grabbed him, he'd seen some of her nightmare. Somehow, her powers had recognised him for a split second and shown him a vision of Ronnie's dream.

He saw Ronnie kneeling on the ground, her arms and legs tied together to stop her from running. Two shadows were holding her upright, making her watch the show going on below her. As the dream progressed, Ben saw Kevin, Gwen and himself in separate dens. Each den was over thirty feet tall and sixty feet wide. Gwen was in the far left, Kevin in the far right and himself in the middle. Each den had an entrance that was about eight feet high and curved at the top. It looked like the Roman Colosseum.

Through the entrances, three terrifyingly large lions stalked out. Their noses flared as they caught the scent of their pray. Gwen was huddled far away from the lion, a mana shield surrounding her. The lion charged at her with an almighty roar, easily slicing through Gwen's shield before closing it's jaws around her thin neck. She screamed.

Kevin dodged the lion like a bull-riding entertainer. The lion slammed into the concrete wall, momentarily stunning itself. Kevin heard Gwen scream and called out to her, tears springing to his eyes as her scream was cut short. Growling with a renewed anger, Kevin tried to absorb the concrete in the walls but the wall crackled with electricity and shocked his hand, rendering his power useless as the refreshed lion stalked closer. Kevin spun around, staring at the lion with thinly veiled fear. A second later, the lion had claimed its victim.

The third lion walked towards a distraught Ben, who had tears running down either side of his face. He'd just heard his cousin and best guy friend being attacked by the other two lions and he knew the others had not survived. Instead of preparing to use his Ultimatrix to stop the lion, the Ben in the den tilted his head back and locked eyed with Ronnie. The real Ben could see the crystal-like tears spilling over her lids and down her cheeks.

"Why couldn't you save us?" The dream Ben asked.

A moment later, the dream Ben became the latest lion victim.

Ronnie had thrown him then, the dream cut off. Seconds later, he was being held up by Kevin and Ronnie was stirring awake.

Ben walked over to his best girl friend and saw tears in her slightly red and puffy eyes. He took a seat next to her and brought her into his arms. "It's okay, you're safe now. That will never happen. We'll never leave you, not like _she _did," Ben whispered in her ear, rocking her lightly. He said the last word with a tone of disgust.

During their friendship with each other, Ben and Ronnie had gotten to know each other's back stories. Ben's parents were always a little too mellow, trying to hard to be 'cool parents'. His Grandpa Max was always fun to be around, despite his unusual taste in cooking ingredients. His cousin, Gwen, used to fight with him all the time, although they were family at the end of the day. But Ronnie didn't have such a happy back story.

Her parents had a happy relationship, a happy marriage. Then they had their little pride and joy, Veronica Alyce Myers. But when Ronnie was just four, her mother abandoned her and her father, saying that she was getting bored of living a human existance and decided to leave after not finding the Anodite spark in her daughter. She'd never returned.

Ronnie's father had allowed himself to be swallowed up by grief, leaving his daughter to fend for herself. Ronnie learned how to cook, clean and get to school by herself all on her own. One day when she was seven, Ronnie fell off the swing at the playground at school and broke her arm. It's what finally brought her father out from his shell of sadness and he'd been much better ever since. He still got sad on the anniversary of his wife's abandonment but he could see just how much better his daughter was knowing that it was her father who was looking after her now, not herself.

Gwen and Kevin watched on in sympathy. Although the sight was endearing, it was also sad. Finally, after Ronnie's tears had subsided, Gwen spoke in a quiet voice. "Ronnie, would you like a lift home or stay here?"

Ronnie thought for a second. She'd love to stay exactly where she was but her dad was probably worried sick about her. It was time for her to get home.

"If it's not too much trouble, could I get a lift home? My dad is bound to be worried sick," Ronnie said just as quietly. The more she thought about her dad, the worse she felt knowing that he would be worried because of her.

A rough hand was placed on her forearm. Ronnie looked up at the person who the hand belonged to. Kevin smiled softly at her. "We'll get you home in no time. I'm sure your dad knows you'd never abandon him too."

Ronnie smiled back, thankful for both the lift home and Kevin's words. She looked back at Ben, reluctant to leave. Ben smiled at her, silently reassuring her that nothing had changed. He was still her best friend and she was still his best girl friend. The best friends hugged each other again. At least until Ben was pulled up by the top of his ear.

"Come on, Lover Boy. Miss Ronnie here has to get home. Time to say goodbye," Kevin said, smirking when he heard Ben's whispered mantra of "owie, owie, owie," over and over.

Ronnie giggled lightly but Gwen glared at her boyfriend. Ronnie and Ben were having a moment and he totally ruined it!

Feeling Gwen's glared, the Osmosian let go of Ben's ear, watching as the brunette's hand jolted up to rub the abused part. Ben pouted, a tingling feeling at the top of his ear and a very different tingling around his left hand, which Ben realised Ronnie was holding. Together, the best friends walked down the stairs, silently communicating with their eyes. Gwen walked over to her boyfriend and watched the two leave the room, before slapping Kevin on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kevin grumbled, rubbing the back of his head softly to soothe the pain.

"They were having a moment and you had to ruin it by pulling on Ben's ear! Kevin, you really need to think before you do something," Gwen snapped, irritated with her boyfriend. She moved to the doorway and paused, turning back to a slightly stunned Kevin. "And the only one allowed to pull Ben's ears is me!"

Gwen hurried down the stairs, giggling to herself at the look on Kevin's face.


End file.
